Tigers Announce Gleyber Torres Decision Before White Sox Game

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The Detroit Tigers announced a decision involving Gleyber Torres before Saturday’s game against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field.

The Detroit Tigers kept their faint hopes of postseason play alive Friday, when they staged a furious six-run comeback to down their division rivals, the Chicago White Sox 11-8 at Rate Field.

The Tigers remain five games behind the White Sox in the race for the third and final American League Wild Card spot, meaning Detroit faces another must-win game Saturday. A loss to the White Sox would leave the Tigers six games behind Chicago with seven games remaining, according to the Tigers’ playoff picture.

Before the Saturday game, which was already pushed ahead by five hours in an attempt to avoid a bank of rainstorms, the Tigers announced a decision affecting their three-time All-Star infielder Gleyber Torres.

Torres was out of the Detroit Tigers’ lineup Saturday against the Chicago White Sox, with Hao-Yu Lee starting at second base in his place.

No injuries have been reported for the 29-year-old. Detroit instead has chosen to spend its final week and a half getting extended looks at younger players, and that says plenty about their lack of urgency when it comes to staying in the postseason hunt, and where Torres fits into next year’s plans.

Torres played Friday night, going 1-for-4 with a walk as Detroit rallied to beat Chicago 11-8. He singled in the eighth inning before getting lifted for a pinch-runner late in the win.

Torres has now sat five times in the Tigers’ last 10 games, according to CBS Sports. Torres went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a walk in Thursday’s 3-1 loss to Chicago, then sat entirely the day before that against Toronto, appearing only as a late substitute.

Torres’ Platoon Splits and Recent Performance

Torres built his reputation with the New York Yankees by mashing left-handed pitching. This season has flipped that script. He’s batting .278 against right-handers compared to .231 against lefties, according to splits data from FanGraphs, a reversal that undercuts the notion Saturday’s sit was matchup-based.

Over his last 30 games, Torres is hitting .277 with zero home runs, and his September line sits at 13-for-44. His eye for the strike zone has not faltered, though. He’s drawn 54 walks, but his power has stayed well below the peak he showed in the Bronx.

Torres’ 2026 has been shaped by recurring trouble in one specific spot. He landed on the injured list twice this year with left oblique strains, first in early May and again in mid-June, according to a Detroit Free Press report, before a cortisone shot calmed the second flare-up. Manager A.J. Hinch called the recurrence in the same region “frustrating that the area continues to be an issue,” as quoted by MLive.

Tigers’ Playoff Chances and Torres’ Future

Torres signed with Detroit before the 2025 season on a one-year, $15 million deal after leaving the Yankees, then accepted the club’s $22.025 million qualifying offer to stay for 2026. He’ll be a free agent again this winter, and two oblique injuries paired with a modest power season have likely dented his hopes for the multi-year contract he wants.

Detroit sits at 73-81, six games behind Cleveland in the American League Central, and five back of the final wild-card spot currently held by Chicago. The Tigers have a postseason probability below 1 percent, according to Baseball-Reference, with eight games left.

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